"chillout" = MuZaK"?

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I got thee free ministry ov sound "Chillout sessions" CD w/larst week's "Observer". I listened to it & it is very boring, & sounds like mating ritual music for neo-yuppies. It sux0r. Why would anyone listen to this stuff, it is even more boring than eno "ambient" muzak and presses its lack ov any noticeable qualities in yer face w/full effect. I would say "why would anyone feel so inspired as to make such sucky musick", but thee answer clearly = $$$$$$$£££££££. Fux0r th3 m!n!stry 0f s0|_|nd = k'l@merz etc etc. Yes I posted this in ILE cuz ILM = slow patch at this moment (IMO) here is better etc etc

― NoRMaN PHaY, Tuesday, 20 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Eno never made muzak. Ambient muzak is a contradiction in terms.

― Brian Peter George St. Baptiste De La Salle Eno, Tuesday, 20 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Yeah, right (rolls eyes)

― Norman Phay, Tuesday, 20 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Go back to your ILM playground. Fool.

― Brian Peter George St Baptiste De La Salle Eno, Tuesday, 20 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

TH!Z ! |/\|!LL D0 WHeN J00 ST0P P!55!|\|g aRouND W/"K04|\|", & |\/|4K!|\|g W1MM1|\|'5 BuMS B!GG3R !|\| "PHoToSHoP", & STaRT MaK!NG DeCeNT ReKoRDS L!Ke "BeFoRE & aFTeR SK!eNCe" aGaiN. L@M3R.

― NoRMaN PHaY, Tuesday, 20 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

oh dear!

i like the few Eno ambient albums i have, but agree with you on the recent crop of Chill Out Cds, having had the misfortune to suffer all four cds of the 2 MoS collections, as well as all those Chilled Euphoria compilations and whatnot. although they contain some great tracks the mixing is non existant, and they even manage to suck the life out of those.

other chill out offenders in my book are Kruder and Dorfmeister, who for some reason have a reasonable amount of critical regard

― michael, Tuesday, 20 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

By its very natural so called chill-out music is not meant to be primarily listened to. It is to chill out to, and you cannot truly chill out if you are being stimulated by interesting exciting music. Ambient has a similar ethos to muzak (music to do other things to) however they both go about their missions in very different ways. Muzak is usually the blanding out of the themes, motifes and playing of a recognisable tune to leave a pleasing sub conscius hint of melody but nothing you would want to stop and listen to. Ambient is generally new compositions which are about creating mood in a relatively abstract way (in often a challenging way as well - cf lullabies with actually frightening lyrics). Chill out straddles this divide and also encompasses balladry, jazz and whale noises.

― Pete, Tuesday, 20 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

the MoS chill out Cds are not really chill out. the tracks just tend to be smoother house or downtempo breakbeat stuff. they're not really ambient in any sense. they contain stuff like the excellent Kinobe easy listening track (unfortunately over exposed on that Kronenbourg advert), Lemonjelly etc, as well as seemingly random choices, like that acoustic Radiohead track about 'rows of houses' (i forget the name), Jakarta 'American Dream', Badly Drawn Boy, etc

― michael, Tuesday, 20 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

That said it is rubbish. Every now and then - about once every couple of issues - Q runs an actually quite good article and this one was on 'chill-out'. It's achieved critical respectability in the wake of Air - just like there is a cottage industry of strumalongaRadiohead bands now the real thing has 'gone weird' so too there is a small army of groups making the kind of records Air won't i.e. Moon Safari II. The Q article didn't actually join the dots between these two trends but Maura sent me a radio station playlist last week which snuggled Groove Armada and Zero 7 up next to Travis and Coldplay. I believe the words "urban" and "folk" may have been juxtaposed in the station blurb.

The main point of the Q article anyway was that chill-out has become this terrible octopus of relaxation dedicated to plucking the dullest bits from every genre.

― Tom, Tuesday, 20 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I hate to see Eno, er I mean me, roped in with the whole lazy, insipid chill-out genre, which I agree is primarily motivated to make vast amounts of money from gullible clubbers who require some aural wallpaper to ease their comedown after spending yet more vast amounts of money on talcum powder and horse tranquiliser.

Ambient music always meant more than that. It may be perceived by some as functional, but by its very nature it cannot possibly be classified as "background" music. Take "Music For Airports" for example - the purpose was to give the listener the sensation of flying, so prepare them for the experience of being airborne, to whet their appetite, so to speak. This is a challenging and ambitious aim, that perhaps reached its zenith with "Apollo", a series of soundscapes inspired by the Apollo moon landings. And yes, they do give the listener the sensation of floating in space without the aid of narcotic enhancement.

This is what makes listening to ambient music, an active as opposed to a passive experience, as it's raison d'etre is to stimulate the mind and imagination of the listener.

― Brian Peter George St Baptiste De La Salle Eno, Tuesday, 20 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

To be serious, I did have a few of eno's "Ambient" albums, but I actually found them quite irritating. They were too noticeable to fade into the background, but not "listenable". They really got on my nreves. Also, Eno is a brilliant singer, and it used to fuck me off that we never heard him sing for so long. I'm afraid that if i want to "chill out" (in my case, lounge abt on sofa) I'd rather not have music on at all. Silence is better, and does not necessarily need to be "filled" (IMO, of course) When I was part of the little brit electronica scene in thee early 1980's, there were a few labels which specialised in new-agy "ambient" type music, c/w some of the dizziest sleeve notes I have ever seen. I thought it sucked then, and have not heard anything to change this (snotty) opinion - "we made this not to be listened to" well, fuck that. Gimme silence, something very hard to find in my experience.

― Norman Phay, Tuesday, 20 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"ENO" (I suspect dave q actually, going on the opening paragraph) sez:

And yes, they do give the listener the sensation of floating in space without the aid of narcotic enhancement. In this case, "ambient" is perhaps not the word, in that you have to listen to it in an active way, to get the effect? Actually, I'd forgotten about "Apollo", which isn't too bad. However, I have several american space music albums by artists such as Kevin Braheny, Michael Stearns and Dweller at the Threshold, which do the space thing as mentioned quite incredibly well.

― Norman Phay, Tuesday, 20 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Well, "Discreet Sounds" came pretty close.....

I always thought "my" voice sounded a little strained, especially on "Cindy Tells Me".

― Brian Peter George St Baptiste De La Salle Eno, Tuesday, 20 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Actually, it was Eno that first drew the distinction between ambient and muzak as genres. He said it was impossible to engage with muzak on anything but the most superficial level. It's true. Ambient music has layers, in that the deeper you delve into it, the more enriching the listening experience becomes. If I just put "Apollo" on in the background, I would get very little out of it, because I'd barely be scratching the surface.

― Brian Peter George ohyou'vegottheideabynowetc., Tuesday, 20 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Whoops Scotties! Whoops!

Ambient boring. Give me those Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Gang Stripes chaps any day.

No you can't have your job back Brian.

― Bryan Ferry, Tuesday, 20 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I don't want your job, son. Jobson, geddit??!

― Brian etc., Tuesday, 20 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy vs. Another Time Another Place.

Hmmmmm.....

― Brian Eno, Tuesday, 20 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I heard a muzak version of the Orbs TOwers Of Dub the other week. It was most odd.

― Pete, Tuesday, 20 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Ex-boyf taped Taking Tiger Mountain... for me as a romantic gift. Oh WHERE are all the NORMAL SANE men for god's sake?

― Emma, Tuesday, 20 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Over here in America, m'dear. Emigrate. ;-)

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 20 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Be thankful it wasn't Here Come The Warm Jets.

― Tom, Tuesday, 20 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Ned, emigrating to pull = nearly as desperate as changing gender to pull or even changing species to pull (which A Prominent Poster recently declared himself willing to do....). I will keep persevering with London chaps.

― Emma, Tuesday, 20 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

hullo emma how about it

― suddenly a lemur, Tuesday, 20 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Interspecies luv in London! Merriment!

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 20 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

SInce when have I been a prminent poster. Have you seen how few nominations I have had for the ILE awards?

― Pete, Tuesday, 20 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I think the chillout album has an important role to play in the psychic development of late 20th and early 21st century Britain.

― alxi, Tuesday, 20 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Stop sulking Pete it is most unbecoming. Mark you would do better to try Pete as he was the one who was up for changing gender / species not me. I am sure he would love a bit of lemur action.

― Emma, Tuesday, 20 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

No you don't. Lemurs are my second favourite animal, btw. My first = meerkats.

― Sarah, Tuesday, 20 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Senor Phay,you might be pleased to know Eno is supposed to be doing another vocal album soon.

― Damian, Tuesday, 20 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

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